1993 Audi V8 Quattro Reviews

1993 Audi V8 Quattro 4.2 from North America

Summary:

Faults:

Well, no actual big"failures", but a lot of preventive maintenance and expected repairs due to age and mileage.

Now needs lower control arms and front axle boot.

Did timing belt service, brake calipers rear, battery, window handle cable (failure), front cam seal, needs a power steering rack in the near future (leaking some), power steering pump (replaced washers, failure), climate control head (easy fix, had the part), blower motor is chirping (big job to get to, and would do the heater core at the same time).

General Comments:

A cool car in many ways. Love the look, solidity, performance, interior style and comfort, and the ability to work on it (a new A8 you can't mess with at all).

Negatives are fuel economy (16 combined; 21 on freeway only if it is only freeway and not a single pit stop). I've owned several of these so please note the trip computer reads high... you aren't getting what you think!) Won't comment on the cost of repairs because it's to be expected, and as others mentioned, you need a good independent mechanic and you need a parts car. The cost of parts will stun you if you don't, and many parts will just not be readily available anymore.

The 4.2 engine (which started in 1992-94) is the only way to go. It transforms the car and makes how anemic the 3.6 is apparent. Also you get a dozen improvements with the '92 on, such as BBS wheels, Servotronic power steering, passenger airbag, new climate control system, remote entry, locking gas flap, new seat controls, exhaust tips, G60 brakes (only an improvement from a maintenance perspective; the UFO brakes are better and are what the car needs. The G60s are weak for this heavy car.)

Sure, it was technically advanced then and something of an anachronism now (can't get the right fuel for it anymore; it was designed for 95 octane and suffers even with current "premium", but it's a car you can love if you love all the baggage that goes with it.

It's an interesting car in its own classic unique way. It can't compete with an A8, which is much more advanced, especially now.

General Comments:

The car is generally a blast to drive and goes like a bat out of hell no matter what (I have the Euro-only six-speed manual transmission). Average mileage is around 19 mpg.

Maintenance and repair costs are high, even compared to other vehicles in the same class. The 150k scheduled service which includes a timing belt change ran a whopping $2000. Parts pricing is outrageous, with availability becoming more and more of a concern - already there are some trim pieces that are no longer obtainable... this will make this car a hard-to-maintain classic in the future.

Good things: interior still looks like new. Superb build quality, perfect fit and finish. Good reliability record - never left me stranded. Also never had any electronic gremlins in both V8 I own (ed).

The UFO front brakes are a little overburdened by today's traffic though - I encounter considerable fade in high-speed autobahn driving conditions.

10th Aug 2006, 16:46

23rd Aug 2006, 12:27

That depends on where you live.

In general, prices for these cars have all but bottomed out. In (western) Europe, especially Germany, well-maintained late-model ones can be found in the EUR 3000 range, maxing out at EUR 5000. Long wheelbase versions (of which only 260 were ever made) and manual transmission models with the 4.2l engine are sought after most, and therefore are a little more expensive.

Germany`s the biggest market for these cars by a wide margin.

But these low prices have one reason: Owning a V8 is expensive. VERY expensive. Expect to pay around EUR 0.40 per Kilometer in running costs if you work on it yourself. If you can`t afford that, stay away.

Have a look at www.mobile.de for prices in Germany. And check out www.audiv8.com - there you'll find an excellent buyers guide, as well as classifieds, and the best Audi V8 forum on the 'net (speaking German is a plus for that one...).

7th Nov 2008, 22:52

I see you have the same taste in vehicles. I have 2 V8's, a 90 and a 93, and also an automatic 85 32v 928s, and can say the same about the Audi being faster. My Porsche is great fast and solid, but so are the Audis; the 93 runs very close to the 928, but amazingly enough will pull away above 110.

As for the 90 V8, it's slower off the line and midrange, but its 90-130 times are faster than the 928 just barely. It really starts to fly above 100 mph. The Porsche is a lot faster 0-60 0-80, but 0-120 is pretty much dead even with the 90 V8.

Oh, and just to let you know how in my opinion well built these cars are, this little speed test was performed when the Porsche had 72k miles, the 93 V8 had 147k miles, and the 90 V8 had 192k miles.

My 90 V8 has now almost 230k miles and sees triple digit speeds almost on a daily basis. I know I won't be doing that with any of these newer cars..